Loving Country: A Guide to Sacred Australia

Description

Loving Country is a powerful and essential guidebook that offers a new way to travel and discover Australia through an Indigenous narrative. In this beautifully designed and photographed edition, co-authors Bruce Pascoe and Vicky Shukuroglou, in consultation with communities and Elders across Australia, show travellers how to see the country as herself, to know her whole and old story, and to find the way to fall in love with her, our home. Featuring 18 places in detail, from the ingenious fish traps at Brewarrina and the rivers that feed the Great Barrier Reef, to the love stories of Wiluna and the whale story of Margaret River, there is so much to celebrate. This immersive book covers history, Dreaming stories, traditional cultural practices, Indigenous tours and the importance of recognition and protection of place. It offers keys to unlock the heart of this loving country for those who want to enrich their understanding of our continent, and for travellers looking for more than a whistle-stop tour of Australia. In Loving Country, Bruce and Vicky hope that all communities will be heard when they tell their stories, and that these stories and the country from which they have grown will be honoured. Readers are encouraged to discover sacred Australia by reconsidering the accepted history, and hearing diverse stories of her Indigenous peoples. It is a roadmap to communication and understanding, between all peoples and country, to encourage environmental and social change.

Bruce Pascoe is a Yuin, Bunurong and Tasmanian man born in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond. He's worked as a teacher, farmer, fisherman, barman, fencing contractor, lecturer, Aboriginal language researcher, archaeological site worker and editor. He's also written thirty other books including the short story collections Night Animals and Nightjar, and academic texts including The Little Red Yellow Black Book with AIATSIS. Dark Emu (Magabala Books) won Book of the Year and the Indigenous Writer's Prize at the NSW Premier's Literary Awards in 2016, and has now sold in excess of 200,000 copies. Vicky Shukuroglou is a multidisciplinary artist and researcher dedicated to deepening her understanding of the Earth through careful observation and hands-on care of country. These drive her creative process, with which she hopes to rouse your heart. She has worked collaboratively with writers, musicians, scientists, Indigenous communities and young people. Remarkable projects have evolved out of her commitment to shifting perceptions and bringing young people's powerful work to the attention of 'grown-ups'. Vicky's supporters and partners have included UNESCO, Sanskriti Kendra, Instituto Sacatar, and other organisations, schools and universities.

'Loving Country reveals page after page of both the ancient and contemporary knowledges of these magnificent places, leaving you feeling equal parts wonder and despair. It is a beautifully composed, riveting read scaffolded by Pascoe's signature commitment to watertight research of the colonial archives. Shukuroglou's unpretentious photography showcases the raw, intrinsic beauty of Country. This book will leave you famished for red earth, rainforests, billabongs and big sky Country.' - Shannon Foster, D'harawal Knowledge Keeper, PhD Candidate and Lecturer UTS 'Tales across Australia of discovery and loss. In Loving Country you discover how rich are the landscapes and creatures of Aboriginal Australia, how much we have lost by mistreating [them], how much remains to be found, and how welcome you will be in seeking it. Travel alert with this book. See the country - then you will feel it.' - Bill Gammage, author of The Biggest Estate on Earth 'A big-hearted book of big ideas from Pascoe, a genuine patriot if ever there was one.' - Melissa Lucashenko Loving Country reveals page after page of both the ancient and contemporary knowledges of these magnificent places, leaving you feeling equal parts wonder and despair. It is a beautifully composed, riveting read scaffolded by Pascoe's signature commitment to watertight research of the colonial archives. Shukuroglou's unpretentious photography showcases the raw, intrinsic beauty of Country. This book will leave you famished for red earth, rainforests, billabongs and big sky Country. -- Shannon Foster, D'harawal Knowledge Keeper, PhD Candidate and Lecturer UTS * The Conversation * Tales across Australia of discovery and loss. In Loving Country you discover how rich are the landscapes and creatures of Aboriginal Australia, how much we have lost by mistreating [them], how much remains to be found, and how welcome you will be in seeking it. Travel alert with this book. See the country - then you will feel it. -- Bill Gammage, author of The Biggest Estate on Earth